The Right Temperament
by CatchingMyBreath
Summary: After the death of Godric, Sookie finds Eric depressed and ready to give up on life. Can she come up with a solution to save the Viking from the same fate of his maker?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This story is written by Lycanlove and Lilbrokendolly.

Beta editing: Whyt Wulf

Disclaimer: We don't own any of the characters. They belong to Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris.

"Dammit to hell, Eric, you can't do this!" Sookie cried out, falling to her knees in front of the ancient Viking.

For the second time in as many nights, telepath Sookie Stackhouse found herself on the same rooftop overlooking the city of Dallas, in the company of a distraught-and-hellbent-on-self-destruction vampire.

Eric's eyes refused to meet hers and his shoulders slumped forward. He was already on his knees as he waited for the sun to rise.

"Godric did not want this, Eric...he wanted you to live. Don't you dare give up now, Eric Northman." Sookie took a shaky breath, almost afraid of how the distraught vampire would react to her next quiet utterance. "Don't dishonor Godric's memory like this, please."

When the killing blow didn't come after her slight toward Eric's honor, she knew the situation was both genuine and dire. Was he truly so occluded in the fog of his loss that she could never even hope to reach him? _No_, she thought defiantly, _I will not give up on hope…not now, not ever. I'll find a way to bring him back to himself._

Sookie reached forward and cupped his face in her hands. His eyes met hers and she wanted to cringe and look away. The cerulean eyes that once sparkled with so much mischief and _joie de vivre_ were now mirthless and full of despair. She gently brushed her thumbs across the rivulets of red that rolled down his high cheekbones.

When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and hollow:

"Tell me, Miss Stackhouse...why should I not meet the sun? Why should I stay?"

Sookie inhaled quickly, grasping at straws in her mind. Was there anything that was important to Eric, aside from himself and now Godric? Up until a few days ago, Sookie hadn't imagined that anything was important to Eric Northman besides Eric Northman. His concern for Godric had been a revelation to her…the cocky, heartless, controlling vampire bastard showed that he _did_ have a heart, and that he had _love_ in him. Maybe not for many, but certainly for Godric, his maker. Was there anyone else Eric might care about? A thought came to her, and she spoke quickly, afraid of wasting even a second of the short time left before the sun cleared the horizon.

"Pam...think of Pam. She cares deeply for you, I can tell. Would you want to put Pam through the same thing you're going through now? Things will get better with time, Eric. I know this from firsthand experience. You're grieving but it's not the end of the world, even if it feels like it is," Sookie replied softly, her eyes still holding his bleak gaze.

"Pam does not need me. I released her long ago. She is more than capable of surviving, even thriving, on her own. _Compassion for Pam_ is not a good enough reason to endure this emptiness. _Godric_ is the reason I am here today, otherwise I would have perished on that bed over a thousand years ago. He snatched me from the very clutches of death itself. Godric taught me everything I know. He promised he would be my father, my brother, my son, and he was." He closed his eyes against the pain for a moment before resuming his gaze and continuing. "As a human, you cannot fathom the depth of the bond between maker and child. Despite time, despite distance, a child always has a sense of their maker within them, as real as blood and as constant as the beat of your human heart. But now…there is an…agonizing emptiness…where Godric lived in me. What is there for me without him? Tell me that."

Sookie had really thought playing the Pam card would prove to be her ace in the hole. _Damn it_.

She wanted to kiss the man, to pull him close and wrap her arms around him, and to strangle him simultaneously. She'd been arguing with the stubborn vampire sheriff for at least forty-five very intense minutes now and nothing she said had gotten through to him. Exhausted, she was nearly ready to stand and just let the idiot go through with his asinine plan when Godric's voice replayed in her mind. _"You'll care for him? Eric?" _She damned her conscience and closed her eyes for a moment before offering the one thing she knew he'd wanted before the madness in Texas changed everything.

"If you walk off this roof with me, I'll sleep with you. You'll finally have me in your bed. You've made no secret of wanting that."

Eric snorted.

"And how long would that last? How long would it take for you to despise me more than you already do?" he asked while reaching up and pushing her hands off his face. His eyes turned to look at the horizon.

"Dawn is in an hour, Miss Stackhouse. I suggest you head back to your boyfriend unless you want to watch another vampire go up in flames." His voice was once again distant and cold, as if he were already unreachable, in a realm far removed from the physical plane she inhabited.

Sookie's body jerked in shock, fear, and an unexpected bit of hurt when she realized she hadn't gotten through to him._ He's determined, just like Godric_... Nothing she said had affected him or motivated him to stay alive, or as alive as a vampire can be. She was _not_ going to lose this vampire like she had Godric. At least Godric had given some thought to meeting the sun; he had lived for two millennia and wanted an end to his ennui and his constant inner struggle about the inability of humans and vampires to peacefully and respectfully coexist. He had said that he no longer thought like a vampire, yet he still had no choice but to live like one. Sookie had known what it was like to be _different_ for twenty-six years…what would it be like to be _different_ for a hundred, or five hundred, or _two thousand_?

Eric had not had an epiphany like his maker had. Eric had _lost_ something, perhaps for the first time in his undead life, Sookie realized. Eric Northman was used to _being in control_ and Eric Northman was used to _winning_, yet in the single most important battle he'd yet experienced, Eric had _lost_. He had not been able to triumph in a battle of wills with Godric, not been able to control his maker the way he effortlessly did nearly everyone else. He had been able neither to convince nor to force Godric to leave the roof. In her mind's eye, Sookie once again saw Eric on his knees before his maker, broad shoulders bent and shaking as he pled. She once again heard him begging, voice breaking, surely preternaturally aware of her presence on the roof yet indifferent to the witness to his defeat.

Eric did not deserve to die this way, his body engulfed in blue flame that would turn him to nothing but ashes on the early morning breeze, the telepath contemplated. Eric was a _Viking_, damn it, and he was meant to die with honor, in battle, not in surrender on his knees! Where was the glory in this?

She stayed, kneeling in front of him for what seemed like hours as she frantically thought of something, anything that would get him off this roof and into the sunless safety of the hotel.

"Eric…is there anything I can offer you, or do for you, that would stop this insanity? Because really that's what this is. Insane."

"What I want I know is not possible. There is nothing you can do or say to sway me from this path." His tone was firm.

"Tell me what it is that you think is impossible. You might be surprised." Sookie wanted to growl at him. Even in the depths of desolation, he still thought he knew everything, had thought of everything, and damn it if he still wasn't the most high-handed creature she'd ever met. _Or at least, he still pretends he is_, she thought. A_fter those moments right before dawn yesterday, the only thing I know for sure is that there's far more to Eric than meets the eye. _Though she was only a telepath and not a psychic, she got the feeling that he wasn't quite the monster he wanted everyone to believe he was.

His azure eyes glanced down towards her neck and then looked back up to her face. He waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

"It is of no concern anymore."

She knew immediately what he was referring to. Her mind flashed to the dream she'd had the night before, the dream of Eric stroking her, kissing her, loving her…and telling her that she had "the right temperament" for a vampire. _Could_ she trade the sun for the moon and stars?

Was there anything really left for her back in Bon Temps, anyway? Gran was gone, Jason was…well, _Jason,_ and nothing she did would change who he was. Sure, she had her job at Merlotte's, but really, how long could a telepathic girl works as a barmaid?

And then there was Bill...was there really anything with Bill? Sure they had some good memories, but wasn't it just tonight that Bill was telling her Eric's blood would cause her to become attracted to him? After Bill had gone to bed, Sookie had thought about that. She had ingested a copious amount of Bill's blood so soon after meeting him, so wasn't it possible that the same thing might have happened then? Was her attraction to Bill a result of her heart or his blood?

And…things had seemed _strained_ between her and Bill lately. After Jessica's making, Bill seemed to close himself off emotionally. He hardly ever smiled anymore and when he did, it didn't reach his eyes. She had thought maybe things were starting to get better and then he had taken that cheap shot at Eric last night. Sure, Bill had every right to be angry over the sneaky bullet sucking episode, but seriously, hitting a man while he was down was never right in her book.

Was she really considering this? Could she really do it?

Watching Eric yesterday with Godric had shown her that there was another side to the vampire that not many, if anyone, got to see. Perhaps Eric had depths not even Bill had.

Yes...she could do this. It wasn't something she would really have envisioned for herself …but sometimes you made sacrifices for the people you cared about. And now she realized that yes, strangely she did care about Eric. And she _would_ do this.

Her decision was made.

"Turn me," she whispered softly while raising her hand and laying it on his chest.

His blue eyes darted to meet hers and they pierced her, straight through to her soul.

"I mean it, Eric. Turn me. I'll be yours forever if you want me. You'll be there to teach me how to feed, you'll teach me all there is and can be between a maker and his child. Teach me about a world I don't understand. Become my father, my brother, my son. Teach me pleasure like I've never known." Despite feeling by turns both mortified and excited by her boldness, her tone was a little louder and filled with no uncertainty.

"Sookie, do you love me?" Eric asked while his right hand reached forward and weaved into her hair. He tugged back gently so her face was lifted to look at his.

"At the present time…no, I don't love you…but my heart tells me that someday I could." Her fingers gripped the front of his black sweater and she tugged it forward, hoping his body would follow the cloth.

He let the small human tug him forward but didn't respond as her lips met his. She knew he was still trying to fathom all the angles in this unexpected turn of events.

"_Come on Eric...please do this!_" she thought as she wound a hand into his hair, her fingers tangling in the golden locks.

Suddenly, his grip on her hair tightened and he returned her kiss. His tongue slowly moved over her bottom lip, seeking permission to enter. She sighed softly, opening to him, and his tongue swept inside. She knew she'd won this battle with him then. He was going to turn her, to keep her, and to stay alive.

Eric's free hand reached forward and grasped her hip, tugging her up against him. His lips released hers and moved down to her jaw, nipping softly. His mouth placed soft kisses along her slim neck and over to her ear where he whispered.

"Wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist, Sookie. I'll accept your offer, but we won't do this here. I'm afraid there would be far too many distractions."

He never said the word _Bill_ but she knew exactly what he was referring to.

She nodded and wrapped herself around his tall, well-muscled frame. His long arms wrapped themselves around her waist and he tucked her head under his chin, pressing her face into his chest. After a moment, he placed a surprisingly soft kiss onto the top of her head and took off into the pre-dawn sky.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's the second chapter! I know you all were waiting for this! Chapter 3 will be following tomorrow! Written by Verticallychallangedcutie and Lilbrokendolly!

Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters we only borrow them. They belong to Alan Ball and Charlaine Harris.

The sun shone dazzlingly over the body of Sookie Stackhouse, reflecting off the coconut-scented oil that covered her form, lending to her skin a look of shimmering luminosity. She was sprawled in a lounge chair on the deck behind what she had learned was one of Godric's safehouses, a soft burgundy towel spread beneath her. She had already spent several hours in the sun, contemplating her present predicament with Eric Northman, ancient vampire and head honcho of Louisiana's Area 5.

The night before, she had found him on the roof of the Dallas hotel she, Bill, and Eric had been staying at while they investigated the disappearance of Godric, another vampire sheriff. Godric had been recovered, but had chosen to meet the sun due to his own psychological exhaustion after two millennia of undead life. Sookie had arrived on the rooftop where Godric had been awaiting dawn to find Eric in a confrontation with him. Godric had used his authority as Eric's maker to command him to leave him on the rooftop and allow him to die. Eric had had no choice but to re-enter the hotel, so distraught that he was barely recognizable as the arrogant, morally ambiguous vampire she'd started to know. Sookie had stayed with Godric as the sun took him, and then found herself the very next night standing on the same roof with a suicidally grief-stricken Eric. She'd fought him long and hard to leave the roof, and as her last gambit, she had offered to allow Eric to make her vampire. That had gotten his attention, gotten him off the roof, and gotten her into this situation. She was presently sunning herself in a strange house with a vampire who was dead for the day and who would drain her at dusk. If she hadn't lived through it herself, Sookie would never have believed it possible. Except…she was _Sookie Stackhouse_, and impossible things seemed to happen to Sookie Stackhouse with alarming frequency.

As she thought about how she had gotten to this place and everything that went along with her becoming a vampire, this morning's conversation with Eric floated back into the forefront of her mind.

_After they had landed in front of a simple ranch style house, Eric had led her inside. He made sure all the doors and windows were secured and then told her to follow him upstairs, where he had shown her to a room that was decorated in hues of yellow and blue. _

"_You can use this room while I rest," he stated with a nod before turning to head down the hallway._

"_Wait!" Sookie exclaimed, surprised he hadn't dragged her to the bed yet. "Aren't you going to turn me?" _

"_Miss Stackhouse..." he began._

"_Sookie...please call me Sookie. No need to be so formal. After all, we're in for a long acquaintance, right?" Sookie said with a slight, nervous smile. _

_Eric acknowledged her request with a curt inclination of his head before continuing. _

"_Sookie...I will not turn you based upon what might quite possibly be a well-intentioned whim of yours." He stepped closer to the young telepath and deliberately yet delicately inhaled. It was odd for Sookie to see his broad chest rise and fall with the unusual motion. "Your scent is mingled with that of the sun. It was that way when you first came to Fangtasia, and has been so every time we've met._ _Despite the natural aversion of vampires to the sun, it is a scent we universally find…appealing. Since you smell so richly of it, it stands to reason that spending time in the sun is something you greatly enjoy. Thus, I have decided to grant you one more day in the sun's rays. Enjoy it, and think carefully on the commitment you're making."_

_He looked at her for a moment longer, then turned to leave. When he was halfway down the hallway, he stopped. _

"_If you need or desire anything today, there are keys to the car in the garage on the kitchen counter. Take it and get what you need. I've also placed some money near the keys. My only request today is that you not contact anyone. I don't want to alert Bill to where we are. If, when I rise tonight, you have decided that you have changed your mind, I will take you back to Bon Temps immediately and we will forget the whole matter." He turned his back to her and started down the hallway. "Please enjoy your day, Sookie. I will see you at sunset." With that, he disappeared through the door at the end of the hall. She stood there until she heard a beep that could only be the sound of an alarm being armed. _

Sookie sighed and turned over onto her stomach, her front already a beautiful golden color. As she laid her head on the towel and closed her eyes, she smiled. Eric was showing small signs that he wasn't quite the monster everyone made him out to be. If she were to compare Eric to anything, it would be an onion. There were many layers to him, and the more layers she peeled away, the more he revealed.

_Although, of course, he smells much better than an onion_, she mentally amended. _He smells rather_ nice, _actually…a little bit like a fall morning, when there's dew on the grass and the soil is wet with it. _She sighed again dreamily, then remembered herself with a jolt. Her eyes flew open in surprise. _Why the hell am I thinking about Eric like that? He's…_Eric_! Earth to sanity! Come in, sanity! _She huffed indignantly at her own brain, annoyed at it for taking her down a path she did _not_ want to explore.

From the stories she'd heard in Godric's nest two nights prior and the whispers (_and thoughts_, she had to admit) of the staff at Fangtasia, she knew Eric was considered a fair-minded sheriff, and an even more just maker. She could certainly do worse, as far as makers went. She could, after all, have gotten stuck with the blood-thirsty Stan Davis, or even that creepy Chow she had seen at Merlotte's with Eric and Pam the night they came to pick up Bill for the tribunal. She couldn't imagine having to spend eternity with either of _them_.

By the time four o'clock rolled around, Sookie was a beautiful caramel color all over with not one tan line in sight. Thanks to the privacy of the deck and the tall trees which surrounded the sizable backyard, she had been able to sunbathe in the nude. By the time she was wrapping the towel around her body to head inside, she knew she was going to go through with her deal with the Viking. She was a Stackhouse, and Stackhouses kept their word.

From what she'd learned of vampires from Bill and what she had heard elsewhere, she knew she wouldn't have to stay with Eric forever. Maker and child often went their own ways after a time; even the strong bond of love and mutual respect between Godric and Eric hadn't kept them at each other's side permanently. She would eventually be on her own again, and when that happened, the sky was the limit as to what she could do and where she could go. Vampires didn't seem to be very constrained in their life choices in the new post-Revelation world.

She had spent a lot of time thinking about her life back in Bon Temps. As much as she would like to think there were things waiting for her, she couldn't find many definite pros to the situation. There was her brother. Jason had never really thought much about anything but himself, and that was a constant ache in Sookie's heart. She loved her brother, but she also knew him extremely well. He had his life and there really wasn't a big place in it for her. The only time Jason came to visit these days was for a meal or for her to help get him out of trouble.

Then there was Sam and her job at Merlotte's. Sure, she had enjoyed working there and Sam was a great friend, but did she really want to be a waitress forever? How much longer would she be able to handle the mean thoughts of those around her? How long could she continue to live in her guise of _Crazy Sookie_? It definitely put a strain on her self esteem and her level of inner peace.

There was also Gran's house to consider. She really didn't want to give it to Jason. She knew he didn't have the time to care for it, and he definitely couldn't afford the additional property taxes he would incur. Sookie was very attached to the old farmhouse, it being the setting of so many of her happy memories, which surely outnumbered Jason's, if only because she had continued living there after he had moved out eight years earlier. _Perhaps Eric will let me keep it, for when I am ready to be on my own_. She'd ask him when he rose for the evening.

She sighed heavily as she contemplated Bill. Her relationship with Bill had begun and progressed faster than you could shake a stick. She really thought she had been in love with him. However, after she had sucked those bullets out of Eric's chest, Bill had slipped and let out a secret. He told her that she might become sexually attracted to Eric, and that Eric would always be able to sense her emotions, and he would always know where she was. After her initial shock and her anger at Eric for tricking her faded, she realized that Eric was not the only vamp whose blood she had ingested. Bill had given her his blood to save her life after she had been so severely beaten by the Rattrays, and it hadn't just been the few drops she hadn't managed to spit out from Eric. It had been _mouthfuls and mouthfuls_. After that, she had felt such gratitude toward Bill for saving her, which had opened the door for her to feel so much more…and she had. Now, with her newly acquired understanding of the effects of drinking a vampire's blood, the telepath found herself with so many uncertainties. Why had he failed to tell her what his blood might do to her? Was her attraction to Bill based solely on the fact that she had taken his blood? She tried to remember the feelings she had about him before the night of the beating. Sure, when she'd first seen him at Merlotte's, she had been intrigued by him; he was, after all, the very first real live vampire she had ever seen after hoping for years to glimpse one. She had genuinely enjoyed their interactions, and she had _loved_ the silence of his mind. She had found him attractive, but she found lots of people attractive without falling in love with them.

When she met Eric for the first time, she knew without a doubt (_or any of his blood_,_ thank you very much_) that she was bone-deep attracted to him. How could any heterosexual woman not be? The man was absolutely gorgeous, exuded confidence and charisma, and had light blue eyes that twinkled as if he had just heard a very funny, very naughty joke. He had also exhibited a very unambiguous interest in her.

And now she was discovering that he wasn't quite the evil creature she had thought him to be, or that Bill had implied that he was. Yes, she hated the way he had abused Lafayette when he had been caught selling V, but he had spoken the truth when he stated that someone else would have treated him _much_ worse.

She also hadn't forgotten that Eric had let Lafayette go…for her.

The other thought that wormed its way into her brain was that Eric let her speak her mind, even if _her mind_ happened to involve a remark that questioned his character. Every time she was in supernatural interspecies company with Bill and she tried to speak freely, he would say "Sookie, no!" or "Sookie, stop!" or just "_Sookie!_" or he'd give her a squeeze that clearly meant for her to _shut up right now_. It was almost as if he was embarrassed about what she might say. She knew she wasn't well educated, but that didn't mean she was an idiot with no clue as to how to behave socially. Her Gran had raised her as befitting a Southern lady, and that had included the art of conversation. She respected Bill enough to be careful in her speech if she thought she might not understand a situation, but even when something was crystal clear, Bill was always ready with the gag order of an exclaimed warning or a just-slightly-too-firm grasp.

There was also the fact that every time she asked Bill about his world, the world of vampires that she now found herself in, he would usually respond with something like "It's complicated." Did he not trust her? She surely trusted _him_, and wasn't that trust supposed to go both ways in a relationship? At the end of the day, she had frequently found herself with more questions than answers, far more than she cared to have about her relationship with Bill.

As she slipped into her borrowed room, she decided to just keep the towel on. She didn't know how messy Eric was when it came to feeding (Bill had usually left blood all over his cream-colored sheets), and she knew she didn't want blood on the only outfit she had with her. She lay back on the bed, arranged the towel to preserve as much of her modesty as she could, crossed her ankles, and waited for Eric to rise.

Shortly after, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" she called out, as her belly flopped with nervousness.

Eric entered wearing the same black sweater and black slacks from the night before. His hair was slicked back and as always, he looked stunning. Sookie raised herself up onto her elbows to meet his gaze as he sat on the bed beside her.

"Have you made your decision, Sookie?" Eric asked bluntly. No "Hello, Sookie" or "How was your day?" from Eric Northman. The man was straightforward as always. At least he hadn't ogled her towel-wrapped form; that had to count for something.

"I have. And my answer is still the same. I want you to turn me," she announced.

He nodded and stood from the bed.

"What about Bill? I thought you _loved_ him." he asked, just slightly mocking.

"I thought I did too. But Bill said something to me after we got back to the hotel after the bombing. It made me question our entire relationship. I'm not sure Bill Compton is who I think he is. Perhaps after you've turned me, I'll tell you all the details, which I'm sure you want to hear."

She turned her head to the side, offering her neck to him.

A tiny smirk transformed his stoic face as he watched her offer her succulent neck to him.

"So impatient? Sookie, you surprise me yet again." As the human girl turned her heart-shaped face back to his in astonishment, he let his smirk linger long enough for her to glimpse it with her wide, surprised eyes, before replacing it once again with a bland expression of gravity. "I need you to get dressed. If your answer is still as you say, I will take you for one last human meal." When she gaped, he feigned a look of mock offense and crooned, "You look surprised. Do you think I am so cruel as to deny you the taste of human food one final time? After all, even your Jesus had his famous last supper; why should Sookie Stackhouse have anything less?"

Sookie's mouth hung open. She knew Eric would have another side to his personality but she never really expected this. She smartly chose to ignore his barb at her religion, and instead ponder what exactly it was Eric was up to. _He wanted to take her to dinner?_ She knew from Bill that vampires liked to eat very close to, if not immediately upon arising. He had told her that it helped them to think more clearly, helped them to "keep the beast at bay," as he had put it. That, however, was decidedly _not_ what Eric was doing now, though. She had even offered him her throat. She knew for a fact that Eric hadn't fed tonight, and she wasn't as naïve as others thought. She knew Eric didn't mainstream like Bill and she also knew for a fact that Eric despised True Blood.

The vampire in question smirked yet again, placed his cool finger under her chin and gently closed her mouth.

"Sookie...you'll find in the coming years that I'm not always as I appear to be. What is that phrase you humans use? Oh, yes…_do not judge a book by its cover_. Get dressed, my little bullet-sucker. I'll be waiting downstairs." With that, he turned and walked soundlessly out of the room.

Sookie grabbed her dress from the closet and headed into the bathroom. She took a very quick shower, left her hair down, brushed her teeth once again and pulled the dress on. Twenty minutes later she was walking into the kitchen. She found Eric on his phone, speaking in a language she did not recognize. From the tone of his voice, he was irritated with whoever was on the other end of the conversation. She mentally noted that she would have to ask Eric to teach her how to speak whatever it was he was speaking. It sounded beautiful.

As Eric snapped the phone closed, he turned to her.

"Pam will be here around four AM to help us afterward," he said with a wave of his hand.

"So, Little One, do you know where you would like to dine tonight?"

Sookie thought for a second and then nodded. "I'd like something simple, really. Since I don't know any of the local restaurants out here, I thought maybe we could head out to one of the chain places, like Applebee's or TGI Fridays?"

Eric shrugged. "It matters not to me, Little One. I'm not the one who will be eating at the establishment. If that's what you wish, then let us not delay." He paused, glancing at her sidelong with merrily twinkling eyes. "I can, after all, hear your digestive juices gurgling."

Sookie's eyes once again became round with shock while her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. _Damn that super-sensitive vampire hearing! _She hung her head in mortification and raised a petite hand to cover her eyes. After a second of hiding her face, she parted her fingers slightly and chanced a peek at Eric. His posture was relaxed, and he was smiling.

"Come." He reached his large hand toward her, and she took it without a second's hesitation.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Before you start sending out the mobs with pitch forks I PROMISE chapter 4 will be the lemons and the turning. This is the second part of what we had written for chapter 2 but we decided to break it into two chapters. Today my 5 year old little girl graduates Kindergarten so my summer begins today, leaving me more time to write. A big thank you to my beta and co-author for getting this back to me so quickly! Written by Verticallychallangedcutie and Lilbrokendolly!

Disclaimer: We do not own any of the characters, we only borrow them. They belong to Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball.

Thirty minutes later, Sookie found herself seated inside the restaurant, across from a very tall, very large, very attractive thousand year old vampire. His smooth skin was especially pale this evening, as he had not yet fed, choosing instead to take her out for a "last supper" before turning her later that night.

After Sookie had given her order to a very vamp-curious waitress, Eric struck up a conversation that surprised her.

"Tell me something about yourself that I don't already know." Eric leaned his elbows onto the table, and smiled while watching her attentively.

"Well..." Sookie sighed slightly and began to speak. "I've always been telepathic, at least for as long as I can remember. My parents never really knew what to do with me, or how it was that I knew things, and I guess that caused them to be a little afraid of me." Her mind instinctively shifted away from that old pain, as the Viking arched his eyebrows questioningly at her. _Oh, right. Feels my emotions, check._ "I've always thought of my ability as something of a curse, really. It's caused me nothing but problems from Day One."

Eric didn't respond right away; he seemed to be lost in thought. Finally, he broke his silence.

"Sookie, I've always thought of your ability as something of a gift, really," he stated, echoing her previous words. "Most humans go through their entire lives not knowing what others think about them or what someone's true intent is. They can pretend that reality is safe and fair, and that their social cohort like them and mean them well. That seems to offer their fragile psyches some protection. You, with your unusual ability, have always known what others truly think. You were not able to take comfort in the ignorance most of your kind take for granted. Your circumstances have forced you to become strong, to adapt, which is something humans notoriously do not do easily. You've learned to shield yourself from hurt that would have destroyed a lesser creature. You said your parents were scared of your gift, but it is human nature to fear the unknown. It has been that way for many, many millennia. The people in my village were the same way over a thousand years ago, and humans will continue to fear what they do not understand a thousand years from now. It is their nature, Sookie, more than it is their intent."

Sookie gaped at the blond man across from her. That had to be the most he'd ever said to her in one sitting. If she didn't know better, she might have even thought the ancient entity sharing the booth was trying to offer her not only praise, but _comfort_. She shook off the notion, deciding it would only confuse her to try to discern the motivation behind his thoughtful words. _Just take it at face value_, she told herself, and turned her attention outward again, back to the vampire sheriff, who watched her patiently.

"So..." she began, "Turnabout is fair play, Mr. Northman. Now tell me something that I don't know about you." She concluded her request with a smile.

Eric stayed quiet as if contemplating whether or not to answer. He parted his lips to begin speaking just as their thin, middle aged waitress arrived at their table. With her, she had brought not only Sookie's entrée, but also a wealth of truly bizarre fantasies about Eric, which involved foreign objects and freakishly altered household furniture as much as the handsome vampire himself. The server was an extremely loud broadcaster with startlingly clear images, and Sookie hastily fortified her mental shields once a unicorn with a very shiny, very thick horn entered the woman's fantasy landscape.

The scandalized telepath thanked the grinning woman with as straight an expression and as steady a voice as she could muster, and fought the urge to cover her blushing face with the cloth napkin from her lap. Once the blood began to drain from her cheeks, she looked back to Eric, who was studying her intently.

"Is something troubling you, Sookie? You are…disturbed and amused at the same time."

"Remember how you pointed out that regular people who don't see inside other folks' heads are kind of protected from what's there?"

"Angelic Sookie, if the span of my short term memory was less than the ninety seconds which have passed since I spoke those words, I rather doubt I would have survived as long as I have," the Viking deadpanned. "Did the waitress harbor evil wicked thoughts about you?"

"Not evil or wicked, and not about me." Sookie offered Eric a significant glance, unable to fight the urge to somehow share the unsettling yet strangely hilarious experience. "I wonder though…" she mock-innocently intoned with wide eyes, "Do you even _like_ unicorns?"

"_Excuse me_?" If Eric's expressive eyebrows could have risen any higher at Sookie's intimation, they would have blended seamlessly with his hairline.

Sookie struggled valiantly not to choke on her Coke as she watched her bemused companion try to puzzle out exactly what she'd seen in the waitress's mind. When she was sure the soft drink was on its way to her stomach and not her lungs, she did her best to put her mystified escort at ease.

"Can you imagine now, just a little bit, how this thing of mine can be a curse?"

"You have, indeed, illustrated for me how at times that must certainly be true."

Sookie grinned at the vampire who, apparently, hadn't seen quite _everything_ in his thousand years. "Pfft, that's nothing. I didn't even mention the anatomically correct furniture. Be glad you're a bloodsucker and not a telepath." She was unable to hold back a guffaw at Eric's baffled reaction to that little gem.

"You do realize that your gift would certainly aid you if you ever wished to become a screenwriter for a certain genre of…video entertainment." The Viking could give as well as he could get.

"Sure, just call me Sookie Smuthouse!" she quipped, and laughed hard enough to feel a stitch in her side. Though her sight was somewhat impeded by her laughter-induced tears, there was not a thing wrong with her hearing, which noted, for the first time, the sound of Eric Northman laughing. It was a rich baritone sound that came rumbling from deep within his chest and vibrated in the air around them. It made Sookie feel warm with strange delight. It also made her unable to cease her own giggles for quite a few seconds longer.

When her mirth had subsided, she looked up at Eric, who watched her with a smile and unabashedly reached out a thumb to whisk away a tear her napkin had missed. He brought his wet thumb to his lips and placed the tip of the digit in his mouth, sucking away the moisture there. His eyes were warm as he regarded her, even as she glanced away while he tasted her tears, which she found rather intimate.

"I must say, this is the most enjoyable last supper I have ever attended, Sookie."

"Oh, me too. I would say we should do this again sometime, but…" she shrugged her shoulders, still smiling.

Eric leaned in to decrease the distance between them. "We have all the nights in the world to enjoy each other, Little One. Tonight is not the end." His eyes smoldered across the space of the booth. "This is the beginning."

When a bit of her anatomy twitched in response to that look combined with the same words he had spoken in her dream, Sookie struggled to recreate the sobriety present earlier in the evening. "You were going to tell me something about yourself that I don't know. Don't think I've forgotten; you won't get off that easy, Eric Northman. Spill it."

Blue eyes glanced at her plate. "Your food is beginning to cool. Eat while there's still some warmth to it, and I will tell you what you wish to know."

As she moved the fork towards her mouth, Eric began to speak.

"The first time Godric came to me, I was quite literally on my deathbed. Two of my most loyal men had carried me after I fell in battle. They built a funeral pyre and laid me on top, making me as comfortable as they could. They knew I would not survive the night with the wounds I had. I had told them earlier that day to leave me, as I knew my wounds were fatal. They would not. They promised they would give me a hero's send off to Valhalla. That night, as one of my men was offering me a few words of comfort, Godric appeared. He killed my men and was suddenly upon me, smiling down into my face. He was beautiful even then, fangs out, blood dripping from his mouth. I asked if he was Death, and he replied, "I am." Godric looked to be nothing but a small boy who had yet to reach manhood. He told me he had watched me fight and that it was beautiful. He then asked me if I could be his companion in death, walk in the shadows with him. That serene smile never left his face, and I could not find it in myself to fear him in the slightest."

Sookie didn't utter a word. She listened with rapt attention as he told the story of his own turning a millennium earlier.

"I accepted his proposal and he drained me, as I will you later, though the circumstances tonight will be quite different. The bond between a maker and a child, as you will find, is very strong. Even though Godric and I spent many, many years apart, I remained fiercely loyal to him. If my heart still beat, it would have stopped and shattered up on that rooftop. Godric taught me everything there is to being a vampire. He taught me to hunt and feed, he taught me to bury my human emotions, as they are usually considered a liability in the world that is soon to be yours as well as mine. He taught me pleasure in the ways only a vampire can experience it...as I will teach you. I will be there with you every step of the journey. You will not be alone. I will be your father, brother, friend and lover. If you ever have need of anything, you have but to ask and I will give it to you. You will be my own, and I will protect you with my life, Sookie."

Sookie's eyes teared up when she thought of what Eric had lost when Godric met the sun. Yet, in the face of that loss, he was willing to make such a commitment to her, to become the earth to her moon. When she would be unstable, he would steady her. When she would be lost, he would ground her. Even at great distance, they would always be connected to each other. While he might dwarf her with his presence and his power, he would never try to extinguish her light.

His face was open, without any hint of the thousand years of jadedness he typically displayed, and her heart clenched at the sight of it. _This_ was the core of Eric. He was genuine in his vow to her. She reached across the table and took his large, cool hand in her small warm one.

"I trust you, Eric. I believe that you will be a fair maker, and I really believe you'll do Godric proud, wherever he may be." The blond vampire responded with comfortable silence, studying their entwined hands. He ran his thumb gently over the back of her palm, soothing circles into her flesh with the pad of his finger, which caused Sookie's heart to beat a little more rapidly. Her lungs resorted to shallower, quicker breaths.

Possibly because he had noticed the change in her vital signs, Eric raised his eyes once again to Sookie's, and held her gaze for long moments with his smoldering one. Excitement shot through her supple body in response to the sustained physical connection and intense eye contact. _Holding hands with Bill had never felt like_ _this_, she realized, feeling a tide rise in her body that threatened to sweep her away.

Their server returned to ask with a smile in her voice if they needed anything else. Sookie was entirely too caught up in her own response to her soon-to-be-maker to catch any more odd images from the woman's mind. She wasn't even aware enough of her presence to be grateful for that.

"We have everything we need," Eric intoned meaningfully, never shifting his glance from hers. "Leave us."

The waitress deposited their check on the table and scurried away quick as a mouse. Sookie heard the scuff of her shoes fading into the distance, once again leaving her to bask in her newfound connection with the Viking vampire.

Before she allowed herself to submerge completely in the heady atmosphere between them, she had one thing she needed to know.

"Eric?"

"Yes, lover?" Twitch went her anatomy. Thump-thump went her heart.

"I do have one request…for after you turn me, I mean. All I ask is that you think about it before you say no. Will you do that?"

Eric nodded, wearing a slightly dreamy smile, though she knew he was listening intently because his eyes had become more glimmering and amused, and less like a tinder fire primed to become an inferno.

"My Gran's...well, _my_ house. I don't want to sell it. It's been in my family for 150 years and I don't trust Jason to be responsible for it, and I know he can't afford the taxes on it. I know I'll be staying in Shreveport after tonight, but I'm just not ready to give that up for good. Can I please keep my house? I'll have to get a job to afford it, so maybe I could work at Fangtasia with Pam once I have some control over my urges? I'm a damn good barmaid, if I do say so myself."

Eric smiled indulgently. "Sookie...as your maker, it is my duty to provide for you until you are able to be on your own. I will pay off what's left on the house. As for your living arrangements, you'll be living with me for a very long time. You will share my bed when we rest for the day. I am not asking you if you want to, because you _will_ want to. As a newborn vampire, your control will be almost non-existent and you will need to be with me until I can teach you how to be in command of your new natural urges."

Sookie looked horrified as a thought crossed her mind. _Stupid, stupid!_ _I should have thought of this earlier! _

"Eric…I don't want to kill anyone. I'm not so naive as to think you'll let me only drink True Blood…but I don't know if I could live with myself if I drained someone just because I was hungry."

Eric smirked. "Sookie, that is what I will be there for. I won't let you kill anyone accidentally. As your maker, I'll teach you when to stop feeding, and I will always make sure you are well fed, so you do not lose dominion over your body." His voice had hardened slightly when he spoke his next. "And don't mistake me for the incompetent named Bill Compton. I am aware that he leaves Jessica unattended most of the time, and I have no doubt that at some point, someone will need to step in to teach Bill's child the lessons he has left unlearned.

"As a fit maker, I will not be leaving your side for a very long time. A newborn vampire is like a human infant. You will be born with a set of instincts, and will need someone to guide you to understanding and mastery of them. I will need to teach you how to feed, when to feed. I'll teach you how to choose your meal, how to glamour and how to know when it's time to head to your resting place. I will teach you how to fight, so that you may defend yourself if you ever need to. I shall teach you to recognize all the urges your new body will be giving you." He sighed, such a human action, wholly unnecessary for his undead body. "Sookie, I will not neglect you. I am a fair maker, as Godric was before me."

The rest of her meal was eaten in silence as she thought on Eric's words. The stillness was pleasant, and continued as Eric paid the bill, and as the two made their way back to the house.

Eric led Sookie gently by the hand down the hallway and into the master suite of the house that had once belonged to Godric. Her stomach quivered with butterflies as Eric released her hand and closed the door behind them. She retreated to the adjoining bathroom to tend to her human needs before he had turned back around to face her.

The young woman splashed some cool water on her face after washing her hands, and looked at her reflection in the mirror, memorizing her human visage one last time. Everything was changing…her feelings, her beliefs, her basic nature…even Eric was changing, opening to her like a deadly but exquisite night bloom. As she thought on the last evening of her human life, she realized that she felt a sense of calm that she hadn't expected at all. She had expected herself to be crying, frightened about the pain of being drained, frightened about the future, frightened about everything. Now, she found that while she wasn't completely unruffled about what was to come, she wasn't panic-stricken, either. She would be waking next into an entirely new world, but she wouldn't be alone. She stroked a finger over the back of her hand, where Eric had caressed her. _A whole new world_, she thought, and smiled just a tiny bit. She unlocked the bathroom door, and re-entered the bedroom.

During her absence, the Viking had lit a great number of candles in various sizes around the room, filling the space with a warm glow and a gentle scent.

"It smells like honey," Sookie thought aloud.

"The candles are made of beeswax. Godric appreciated their scent as well," a rich voice intoned softly.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Eric come up behind her, and jumped when his lips nuzzled her neck. After placing a soft kiss on the sensitive spot under her ear, he whispered.

"Are you afraid?"

"Mostly no, but just a wee little bit, yes," the telepath breathed.

Eric stroked a soothing hand over her hair and down the length of her back. "Relax, lover...I won't bite you...yet. The night is young, and there is no need to rush through this. Being made vampire can be brutal, or it can be an unforgettable sensual experience. I believe the latter suits us far better." He stood behind her now, and brushed her long golden waves from her neck, making space for his chill lips on her nape.

Sookie leaned back into his firm body as he wrapped him arms around her waist and pulled her earlobe into his mouth, nipping gently. She was unable to stifle the soft moan which escaped her lips. Eric spun her until she was facing him, his hands drifting up to lightly clasp the place where her jaw joined her neck. Their eyes met in the dim light, and her moon gravitated for the first time to his earth, the space between their faces decreasing rapidly. When Sookie was standing on her tiptoes, her full lips only millimeters from meeting Eric's, his pocket began to vibrate. He cursed under his breath and opened the phone.

"This had better be important," he snapped into the phone. Sookie stepped away from him, allowing him some margin of privacy while he took the call.

"Compton." Eric stated as his eyes sought Sookie's. "What can I do for you this evening?"

When Sookie heard who was calling, she was surprised to find she felt only slightly guilty that she had all but walked away from Bill without a goodbye. She knew it was probably better this way. He wouldn't be able to cause as much of a fuss if he couldn't find her until after the transformation was complete. If she was going to make this life work for her, she had to stop thinking about Bill and start thinking more about Eric.

"No, Bill, I have not seen Sookie this evening. As soon as I rose, I left to deal with a matter pertaining to Godric's estate, not that it is any of your business where I spend my time."

Eric smirked at the beautiful young human as he moved to sit at the foot of the king-sized bed and crooked a finger at her. Sookie drifted towards him and as she reached the edge of the bed, Eric wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to straddle his waist. Her knees encircled his hips and his arm remained securely around her.

As he spoke into his phone, his thumb brushed over her bottom lip. Sookie had to fight to keep her tongue from snaking out for a taste.

"Compton, I suggest you spend your time searching for your human instead of yelling at your Sheriff. I grow weary of your insolence. I will not be so patient in the future."

He snapped the phone shut, dropped it, and moved his mouth closer to Sookie's.

"Tell me to stop now, Sookie...once we have begun, I have no intention of stopping until we are both thoroughly sated. As it is, I have waited far too long to claim you." His lips hovered over hers, and the intensity of his stare increased dramatically, their former smolder now a bonafide five-alarm fire. "Yield to me, Sookie."

Sookie wound her fingers into his hair as she watched his lips, then returned her gaze to his heated blue orbs. "I'm ready, Eric. I yield to you. Now make me yours."

With that, his lips descended onto hers.


	4. Author's Note

A/N I know it's been a -long- time since I updated either story of mine for TB. I myself hate when others just abandon stories and I'm no better. I've kinda lost my feel for TB after the last two books and the horribleness of the TV show these last two seasons. It's going to take me a bit to get back into writing as my real life has become chaotic due to a pending separation within my marriage. For anyone interested who sees this.. my two True Blood Stories are up for grabs if anyone would like to finish them. The only thing I ask is that you credit me for the chapters I posted and allow me to keep those chapters up on my profile. If you would like to take over and continuing to write the stories either Comfort or The Right Temperament please send me a PM and I'll make a note on the story as to who has taken it over so it doesn't go to anyone else. It will be a first come first serve type of situation.

Thank you all so much for all your amazing reviews and your favorites. It truly brightens my day when I receive the emails. Choosing to hand over my babies took months and months of agonized thinking as I poured many weeks and months into my writing. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get back to you all with more stories.

~ Thank you all so much

Rachael


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